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By the time of Barack Obama’s inauguration as the 44th president of the United States, he had already developed an ambitious foreign policy vision. By his own account, he sought to bend the arc of history toward greater justice, freedom, and peace; within a year he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, largely for that promise.

In Bending History, Martin Indyk, Kenneth Lieberthal, and Michael O’Hanlon measure Obama not only against the record of his predecessors and the immediate challenges of the day, but also against his own soaring rhetoric and inspiring goals. Bending History assesses the considerable accomplishments as well as the failures and seeks to explain what has happened.

Obama’s best work has been on major and pressing foreign policy challenges—counterterrorism policy, including the daring raid that eliminated Osama bin Laden; the “reset” with Russia; managing the increasingly significant relationship with China; and handling the rogue states of Iran and North Korea. Policy on resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, however, has reflected serious flaws in both strategy and execution. Afghanistan policy has been plagued by inconsistent messaging and teamwork. On important “softer” security issues—from energy and climate policy to problems in Africa and Mexico—the record is mixed. As for his early aspiration to reshape the international order, according greater roles and responsibilities to rising powers, Obama’s efforts have been well-conceived but of limited effectiveness.

On issues of secondary importance, Obama has been disciplined in avoiding fruitless disputes (as with Chavez in Venezuela and Castro in Cuba) and insisting that others take the lead (as with Qaddafi in Libya). Notwithstanding several missteps, he has generally managed well the complex challenges of the Arab awakenings, striving to strike the right balance between U.S. values and interests.

The authors see Obama’s foreign policy to date as a triumph of discipline and realism over ideology. He has been neither the transformative beacon his devotees have wanted, nor the weak apologist for America that his critics allege. They conclude that his grand strategy for promoting American interests in a tumultuous world may only now be emerging, and may yet be curtailed by conflict with Iran. Most of all, they argue that he or his successor will have to embrace U.S. economic renewal as the core foreign policy and national security challenge of the future.

Book Details

342 Pages

Brookings Institution Press, September 4, 2013

Paperback ISBN:
9780815724476

Hardcover ISBN:
9780815721826

Ebook ISBN:
9780815721833

About the Authors

Martin S. Indyk

Martin S. Indyk is executive vice president of the Brookings Institution in Washington D.C., and a former U.S. ambassador to Israel. He was the founding director of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings. During the Clinton administration Indyk served as assistant secretary of state for Near East affairs, special assistant to the president, and senior director for Near East and South Asia in the U.S. National Security Council.

Kenneth G. Lieberthal

Kenneth Lieberthal is a senior fellow emeritus in the Foreign Policy program at Brookings. From 2009 to 2016, Lieberthal was a senior fellow in the Foreign Policy and Global Economy and Development programs; from 2009 to 2012, he also served as director of the John L. Thornton China Center. Lieberthal was a professor at the University of Michigan from 1983 to 2009. He has authored 24 books and monographs and over 70 articles, mostly dealing with China. He also served as special assistant to the president for national security affairs and senior director for Asia on the National Security Council from August 1998 to October 2000. His government responsibilities encompassed U.S. policy toward Northeast, East, and Southeast Asia. Most recently, he co-edited the book "China's Political Development: Chinese and American Perspectives" (with Cheng Li and Yu Keping), which was published by Brookings Institution Press in June 2014.

Michael E. O’Hanlon

Michael O'Hanlon is a senior fellow in Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution, where he specializes in U.S. defense strategy, the use of military force, and American national security policy. He is also director of research for the Foreign Policy program at Brookings. He is an adjunct professor at Columbia, Princeton, and Syracuse universities and University of Denver. He is also a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies. O’Hanlon was a member of the external advisory board at the Central Intelligence Agency from 2011 to 2012.